


Home At Last

by Maeve_of_Winter



Series: Finally Home [3]
Category: Fantastic Four (Comicverse), Fantastic Four (Movies 2005-2007)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Fluff, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Married Couple, Mpreg, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-16 15:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11255952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maeve_of_Winter/pseuds/Maeve_of_Winter
Summary: Ben watches their children play one summer evening as he waits for Johnny to come home.





	Home At Last

**Author's Note:**

  * For [reeby10](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/gifts).



With a sigh of contentment, Ben watched his young son and daughter play with Lockjaw in the vast front yard of their mountain home. Surrounded by invisible barriers that would shield any potential attack and block any oncoming foe, the meadow was an ideal place for the kids to play. Right now, they were tossing an LED bouncing ball between them. More often than not they overestimated the distance, forcing the other to scramble after the ball as it rolled away. Ben couldn’t hold back his laughter at their antics; watching his children, he couldn’t help but wonder if Johnny and Sue had ever played together in the same way.

 “All right, kids, ten more minutes!” Ben called to them.

 Five-year-old Dani quickly objected. “But you said we could stay up until Daddy got home! You promised!” With her long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she appeared almost identical to the photos of Sue from when she was a little girl. And her stubborn streak, Ben was quick to assure others, was one hundred percent Storm as well.

 “You promised,” four-year-old Jake echoed. Bearing close resemblance to his sister, he looked like a younger version of Johnny. Much to Ben’s relief, though, he didn’t show any signs of the same wild streak. Truly, Ben loved his husband, but he wasn’t sure the multiverse could handle more than one version of Johnny Storm prime.

 “I did,” Ben conceded, casting a searching glance upward for any sign of Johnny’s fiery form. “But if he doesn’t show up in the next ten minutes, you’ll have to go to bed anyway. You don’t want to be too tired to play tomorrow, do you?”

 “No,” his children chorused.

 “Then it’s bedtime in ten,” Ben told them.

 Ben could not suppress a stab of concern at Johnny’s late arrival; when there had been reports of one of the Mole Man’s giant monsters rampaging through Lower Manhattan, Johnny had left immediately, determined to show that even though he and Ben no longer lived in the city, they still cared about its occupants. They took turns going out to fight crime now, with one of them attending to whatever disaster while the other stayed home with the kids. And though Ben knew Johnny was more than capable, it never felt right for Johnny to go off on his own.

 “There’s Dad!” Jake shouted, pointing up at the sky, and sure enough, Johnny’s fiery silhouette was rocketing toward them. The shields didn’t retract for an instant, but nor did they heed him. The sensors detected Johnny’s genetic code, allowing him to slip through the barriers without any problem. He landed gracefully on the grass, powering off his flames from feet to head in order to ensure he didn’t leave any scorch marks on their lawn.

 “Dad!” Both of their children rushed over to him excitedly, and Johnny didn’t hesitate to grab Dani in his arms and spin her around. Setting her down, he reached for Jake, tossing him up into the air and catching him again.

 “How are my two favorite hellraisers?” Johnny asked as he placed Jake back on the ground, affectionately ruffling the hair of both of his children. “You behaved for Daddy, I hope?”

 Ambling over them, Ben let out a snort. “Yeah. They behaved just as well as you did for me back when I was your CO in flight school.”

 “Keeping up the family tradition, then,” Johnny said with a smirk, standing on his tiptoes to give Ben a kiss on the cheek. “And how are you?”

 “Glad to have you home,” Ben replied honestly, putting an arm around Johnny’s shoulders and drawing him close. “You had me worked up when you took longer than you said.”

 “Spider-Man needed some help with the clean-up,” Johnny said easily, giving Lockjaw a pat on the head before the dog ran off to play with the children again. “Besides, I wasn’t all that late, Rockhead.” He gave Ben a fond nudge with his elbow. “You worry too much.” 

 “Someone’s gotta do your worrying for you if you’re not gonna,” Ben retorted, but his tone was more doting than exasperated.

 “I went to the city today because we have to make an effort to show we still prioritize the team,” Johnny reminded him. “I don’t want anyone saying we abandoned the public’s welfare to concentrate solely on our own family.”

 “I know,” Ben said. Gently, he pulled Johnny to stand in front of him, keeping one hand on his husband’s back and carefully placing the other on his stomach to feel its slight swell. “But you’re carrying our kid, Johnny. I know you’re not helpless, but I don’t want you taking risks while you’re pregnant. Especially not when you’ve had such a difficult time in the past,” he added worriedly, remembering how exhausted and ill Johnny had been following both Dani and Jake’s births. It had taken him months to recover from each one, and while Ben had done his best to care for his husband and children during those times, it had deeply disturbed him to see Johnny so completely drained of his usual spirit and vitality.

 “I’ll be fine,” Johnny reassured him. “C’mon, Ben. I’ll probably be on total bed rest in just a few months. Let me have my freedom while I can.” 

 “Hmph,” was Ben’s only response as he inwardly vowed to thoroughly discuss this topic with Johnny at a better time. “What do you say we get our little rascals to bed, huh?”

 “Good idea,” Johnny replied, hooking himself under Ben’s arm as he raised his voice to call to their children. “Danielle! Jacob! Time for bed!” As their children straggled forward, dragging their feet and complaining, Johnny turned back to Ben, reaching up to caress his jaw. “After we read them a bedtime story and make sure they’ve settled down, how about you try to light my fire, huh?”

 Ben chuckled, giving Johnny a warm kiss before scooping up their children and carrying them into the house, the front door retracting as it identified him. “I don’t know about fire, Matchstick, but you can be sure I’ll show you a rockslide.” 


End file.
